Catchiest song of all time? A Spice Girls tune, say British scientists (+video)

Scientists say if you wanna be the pop star with the catchiest song of all time, “what you want, what you really really want,” to have is a word "hook" that latches onto a listener’s mind super fast.

In the case of The Spice Girls’ hit "Wannabe," the study of 12,000 people found it takes just 2.29 seconds to recognize the song when it begins at the chorus "if you wanna be my lover…"

Anyone seeking something man-made and sold to the general public which operates at that kind of speed may have to leave the world of song and hit the race track in search of an Ariel Atom – which moves just a hair slower than a Spice Girl tune. The Atom is the fastest accelerating street legal road car on the planet thanks to its ability to go from zero to sixty miles per hour in just 2.3 seconds, according to 10 Most Today website.

Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) published the results of a year-long study of what makes a song stick in your head – the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe” came in at No. 1.

Researchers used the ‘Hooked on Music’ test, which is online for continued use by the general public.

The MOSI site offers two versions of the test. It asks listeners to try to name a song randomly selected from over 1,000 best-selling tunes when it began playing from the hook – or to take a time trial to see how fast you can recognize the song from the hook.

"1. Spice Girls - Wannabe - 2.29 seconds (0:45)
Uh, maybe.
2. Lou Bega - Mambo No. 5 - 2.48 s (0:50) Don't know it.
3. Survivor - Eye of the Tiger - 2.62 s (2:04)
Definitely catchy, especially the beginning.
4. Lady Gaga - Just Dance - 2.66 s (1:39) Never heard it.
5. ABBA - SOS - 2.73 s (2:25)
Please. Dancing Queen and so many others are more catchy.
6. Roy Orbison - Pretty Woman - 2.73 s (1:07)
Agreed.
7. Michael Jackson - Beat It - 2.80 s (0:38)
Agreed.
8. Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You - 2.83 s (3:09)
Hardly catchy. Nice slow ballad, but not up tempo catchy.
9. The Human League - Don’t You Want Me - 2.83 s (3:05)
Lame
10. Aerosmith - I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing - 2.84 s (2:22)
Really? That's a ballad. Walk This Way would be their all time catchy song.
11. Lady Gaga - Poker Face - 2.88 s (0:5
Never heard it.
12. Hanson - Mmmmbop - 2.89 s (1:44)
Never heard it.
13. Elvis Presley - It’s Now Or Never - 2.91 s (2:14) Wrong, another ballad. Presley's Viva Las Vegas is the ultimate Vegas catchy song. It's the Vegas Anthem. Ack. Lame. They had better.
15. Michael Jackson - Billie Jean - 2.97 s (1:25)
Hate to admit it but that was a cool song with a great groove.
16. Culture Club - Karma Chameleon - 2.99 s (0:41)
You're kidding me as catchy?
17. Britney Spears - Baby One More Time - 2.99 s (0:33)
Never know it Good song, but not all that catchy.
19. Boney M. - Rivers of Babylon - 3.03 s (0:23)
Never heard it. 20. Elton John - Candle in the Wind - 3.04 s (0:39)
Bad choice...that was a ballad and hardly catchy. "Crodile Rock" would be a better choice.

Bet you don't know the lyrics to 96 Tears. Show me without Googling.

All I remember is the keyboard and the chorus: "I'm gonna try for 96 tears..."

What were the verses? I was driving a lowered 1954 Mercury two-door hardtop at that time on the Blvd. and it was just a damn cool song at the time. But I can't remember any of the verses.

I don’t guess I can recite the lyrics, but I ought to be able to! First, it’s “I’m gonna cry 96 tears ... 96 tears .... too many tear drops to be crying ... “ Then to the effect, “I was on top, but you got me down, but I’m gonna get back on top and you’ll be down, and you’re gonna cry ... 96 tears ... etc.”

He’s still playing that song, BTW. His legal name is “?”

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